Manage projects successfully

Transcription

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2 Manage projects successfully How to make things happen on time and on budget

3 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2005 A & C Black Publishers Ltd 2007 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organisation acting or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by A & C Black or the authors. First published in 2005 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Reprinted in 2007 by A & C Black Publishers Ltd 38 Soho Square London W1D 3HB This book is produced using paper that is made from wood grown in managed, sustainable forests. It is natural, renewable and recyclable. The logging and manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. eisbn-13: Design by Fiona Pike, Pike Design, Winchester Typeset by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed by GraphyCems, Spain

4 Contents Are you a good project manager? 1 Understanding the basics of project management 1 2 Managing your time 14 3 Building a project team 28 4 Working with a project sponsor and stakeholders 43 5 Planning, scheduling, and budgeting 57 6 Dealing with the unexpected 73 Where to find more help 87 Index 89 iv

5 Are you a good project manager? Answer the questions and work out your score. Then read the guidance points to find out how you can improve your project management skills. What skills does project-management require? a) Being an all-rounder with an ability to see the big picture. b) Nothing special: a cool-head, common sense and good organisation will see you through! c) A general understanding of the process and good management skills. What does the word project mean for you? a) A finite task with a set cost and timescale. b) Something difficult to accomplish. c) It s just another word for ordinary work. Do you feel you use your time effectively at work? a) Yes. I am completely in control of my time. b) I stay on top of my work but occasionally run into problems. c) No. I am completely snowed under. iv

6 Are you a good project manager? Do you prioritise your work? a) Yes. I am sure to spend my time on important activities. b) I try to but sometimes find my to-do list over-full. c) Not really. I just do what grabs my attention. Are you able to delegate? a) Yes. I use my team effectively as I cannot be everywhere at once. b) I do delegate but find it hard. c) No. I d rather do things myself. How do you rate your team management? a) Good. I run a tight ship. b) Not bad. There s room for improvement, c) Help! My team is a nightmare I can t control them! Planning is: a) One of my best skills. b) A necessary activity, which I find difficult. c) A waste of time. Something unexpected happens. How do you react? a) I keep calm as I ve thought about potential problems. b) I m normally surprise, but deal with it. c) I tend to panic. a = 1, b = 2, c = 3. Now add up your scores. v

7 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY Chapter 1 will be useful for everyone, as it summarises the essentials of project management. 8 13: Well done; you have good project management skills. There s always something you can learn, though, so look at Chapter 4 for ways to work with key sponsors they can make your job a lot easier. Also, Chapter 5 offers useful tools, such as Gantt charts, which will make your life even easier : You re getting there, but could do with polishing up your skills. Chapters 2 and 3 will help you manage yourself and others better. Chapter 5 is full of invaluable advice on planning, while Chapter 6 will help you cope better in emergencies : You need some help with your management skills, but don t worry! Chapter 2 can help you improve your time management and turn to Chapters 3 and 6 for advice on building your team. Once you ve mastered the basics move on to Chapters 5 and 6 to fine-tune your planning. vi

8 the basics of project 1Understanding management Project management is a term that s often bandied about today. It first became popular in the early 1960s, driven by businesses which realised that there were benefits to be gained from organising work into separate, definable units, and from co-ordinating different kinds of skills across departments and professions. One of the first major uses of project management was to handle the US space programme, and governments, military organisations, and the corporate world have all since adopted the discipline. In this book, we ll be looking at how project management works and how to take the stress out of it, whatever the size of the task at hand. Although the term is now universally familiar, not that many people fully understand exactly what project management involves. We tend to think of it as common sense, and that anyone can manage anything by being calm and well-organised. These are qualities that a project manager definitely needs, but other things are essential too. Project management is, in fact, a structured way of working and recording events that can bring order and coherence to any set of tasks with a 1

9 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY predetermined goal. This chapter sketches the outlines of that structure. Step one: Define what a project is Project is one of those terms that is defined in various different ways by different bodies. However, all sources seem to agree that a project is: a task or set of tasks undertaken within specific timescales and cost constraints in order to achieve a particular benefit. 1 The three stages Think about the following: arranging a holiday decorating a room assembling a garden shed moving house organising a party These are all examples of a project, because they all have three things in common. In each case, you: identify a need or benefit first of all start to produce whatever will satisfy the need 2

10 Understanding the basics of project management use, operate, or simply enjoy the fruit of your labours once all the work has been done This basic three-stage cycle is common to all projects, large and small, whether you re producing a physical product (such as a bridge or computer system), an event (like a product launch or sporting event), or a change in circumstances (an office move or re-organisation, for instance). 2 The three parameters In addition to the three stages, all projects have three key parameters (or factors) which have to be taken into account: 1 time 2 cost 3 quality (also referred to as performance or specification ) The relationship between these three elements is often shown as a triangle: 3

11 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY This is because, throughout the life of a project, the three factors are likely to conflict with one another. You will nearly always find that everyone wants high performance within a very short time, at minimum cost! However, if any one of these factors is absolutely essential, the other two will have to give way to a certain extent it s impossible to be in all three corners at once, so you have to set priorities for the project, whatever it is. Say, for example, your project had been to make all your IT systems 2000 compliant in time for the new millennium. Your priorities would probably have been in the following order: 1 time you d have needed to get everything ready for midnight on 31 December quality it would have been essential that everything worked properly when the clocks changed 3 cost you might have had to spend whatever was necessary to make sure the other two parameters were met When you re beginning a new project, it s a useful exercise to place it within this triangle to indicate how flexible or not you could be with any of the three parameters. So, from a combination of the three stages and the three parameters, we can see that a project: 4

12 Understanding the basics of project management has a finite and defined life span aims to produce a measurable benefit or product contains a corresponding set of activities designed to achieve that benefit or product has a defined amount of resources allocated 3 The structure The final, vital, requirement is that the project also has a proper organisation structure with defined responsibilities, so that everyone involved knows what they are doing and why; how it must be done, and by when. TOP TIP One important thing to bear in mind is that projects are finite they have a definite beginning and end. If these are unclear and if you and others are working away without a proper goal in sight, it s not a project. Step two: Understand what project management is All projects, large or small, are set up to create something new to an organisation, and as a result, they create an environment which is unstable and risky. Without change, though, we d stagnate. Projects help us to develop, but it s important to keep them under tight control 5

13 Understanding the basics of project management project, assess what risks are involved, identify what skills and resources are required, then constantly check progress and adjust its course to make sure the targets are achieved successfully. Step three: Know what skills are required The project manager is often seen as a juggler, the person who has to keep all the balls in the air at once plans, budgets, people, communications, and so on, as well as keeping the balance between the three parameters of time, cost, and quality mentioned above. Project managers therefore need to have a good level of know-how in whatever field their project is in (such as IT or manufacturing expertise, for example), as well as sufficient clout to have influence with senior decision-makers. All these requirements can be split into two different areas of skills: business and interpersonal. 1 Business The project manager should be able to: plan all aspects of the project monitor costs, efficiency, and quality without generating unnecessary extra work for others 7

14 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY so that they stay focused and achieve what they re supposed to. This is where the project manager comes in! The whole project management process revolves around three main areas: 1 Business: Projects must support your organisation s business strategy. If they don t, they shouldn t be started in the first place. To work out whether a project is a good idea or not, there has to be agreement from everyone involved or affected about: what the project is what its targets are the benefits to the business It s the project manager s job to make sure the project has been properly defined and planned from the outset. 2 People: Projects revolve around people, and if the project manager isn t managing the team doing the work and all the other stakeholders, he or she isn t managing the project. Identifying or appointing certain people is also key, such as the project sponsor (the person who s requested the project usually the one who is paying for it) and champions who can support and promote the different areas of the work. 3 Control: As soon as authorisation is received to start work, the project manager must plan the route of the 6

15 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY use both technical and general management skills to control the project make sure that the whole team takes part in decisionmaking, which boosts trust and productivity get things done right first time without being a slave driver get the right people for the right task at the right time see clear-sightedly through tangled issues keep focused on results demonstrate excellent problem-solving skills 2 Interpersonal He or she also needs to: lead both by example and by taking a back seat when appropriate negotiate any project requirements (such as suitable timescales and budgets) with senior decision-makers motivate with integrity, sensitivity, and imagination build excellent team relationships 8

16 Understanding the basics of project management communicate clearly and unambiguously with everyone Step four: Understand the project lifecycle Any project has a natural progression, through from when it is first established to when it is finished and the benefits are seen, following a series of different stages. This is known as the project lifecycle. Depending on their complexity, some projects will need more stages than others. Having said that, the same steps can generally be applied to any sort of objective: Evaluate ideas This stage establishes the business need for the project; documents the initial idea(s); assesses the benefits; identifies risks which might threaten the success of the project, and outlines how it is going to be done, how long it will take, what it will cost, and whose authority will be needed to proceed. Define and design Now you re into the detail. How will you run the project; who will be needed to do it; how will you divide up the responsibilities, and what key measures and milestones will you use to monitor progress? To make sure things don t get missed out, think about it in terms of what your 9

17 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY business/team needs, what customers need, and what your competitors are up to. Do they have any new initiatives that you need to improve on, for example? Build and test With all your plans and designs in place and agreed, you find and build all the new processes, places, and people involved in the project. At every stage, you test to make sure that everything works as it s meant to. Implement, pilot, and launch Here you pilot the project, evaluate how it s gone so far, and refine as necessary. Then you finalise the full-scale launch, prepare the processes and systems that will be required, and provide any necessary training. This is the last point at which your project sponsor(s) can make a final decision on whether or not to go ahead. Evaluate and monitor Following the launch, you make sure that the project has delivered the expected benefits. You also record any learning points so that you can manage things more effectively next time things are bound to go wrong along the way but if you learn from them, you ll start your next project much better equipped. TOP TIP This process doesn t necessarily flow through in one smooth sequence, as you will need to keep evaluating and monitoring plans, budgets, timescales, and so on 10

18 Understanding the basics of project management Common mistakes throughout the life of the project. However it does act as a good road map, and none of the stages should be missed out, even if your project is quite a small one. You don t do enough planning Once the go-ahead has been given for a new project, it s tempting to get over-excited and rush into a frenzy of activity. All projects stand or fall on how well they ve been planned and researched from the outset, though, so the early stages of any project (the evaluate ideas and define and design steps described above) are by far the most important, and it s essential that you place high emphasis on them. In fact, between 30 and 50 per cent of the entire project lifecycle ought to be devoted to investigation before you even think about building or producing any products or processes. Research has shown clearly that time spent on these stages is valuable in several important ways: it significantly decreases the time to completion, and can cut costs dramatically it results in clearer objectives and plans, which are more likely to be achieved since decisions taken at the early stages of a project have a far-reaching effect, it sets the tone for the remainder of the process 11

19 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY it minimises changes being made once development is under way, which can be very costly Doing your groundwork properly will lessen the chances of you ending up with a disaster on your hands! You under-estimate the impact of a new project Because projects, by their very nature, are designed to bring about change, you may meet a lot of resistance from the people potentially affected by it. If you are the project manager, you need to be really sure of what the benefits will be and you also have to be good at getting these across to others. You re also likely to encounter considerable internal politics, with people wanting to influence the process and clashing with each other, so be prepared for that too. You get too involved in the nitty-gritty With so much going on around you, it s all too easy to get distracted by details of each individual activity within a project. It s vital that someone stays in the driving seat and keeps all the activities together and on course, though, and as the project manager, that s your job. Don t be tempted to get in there and get your hands dirty you have enough to do already. STEPS TO SUCCESS Understand the difference between a project and ongoing work. 12

20 Recognise that project management is a way of bringing about change in an organisation in a controlled fashion, with minimum disruption to the rest of the business. If you re in charge, review your project management skills, both business and interpersonal, and refresh or update them if necessary. Move through all the stages of the project lifecycle in order, and don t be tempted to skip any even if your project is relatively small. Do lots of groundwork in the early stages of the project. Planning and research will really pay off, even if you re itching to get started on the main job at hand. Be prepared for the resistance, conflict, and internal politics that can result from the changes brought about by a project. Keep your eye on the big picture, and don t get distracted by detail. Useful links 4pm: Mind Tools: Understanding the basics of project management 13

21 2Managing your time The one thing a project manager never has enough of is time. There are so many demands such as planning and allocating work, monitoring progress, motivating the team, keeping everyone happy, preparing for launch that time is an extremely precious commodity. Few people are naturally great at managing their time. With some forethought and discipline, though, it s remarkable how it can be used well and redistributed to encompass everything that needs to be done. This chapter suggests some techniques which, with practice, can result in a calm, productive project manager rather than a harassed individual stretched too thinly in too many different directions! Step one: Understand the nature of time The first thing is to remember is that time is finite. We all have a tendency to think it ll stretch there s plenty of time, I ll do that later, of course you can have five minutes, we all say blithely. We often don t realise, though, that we re frittering away a valuable, non-renewable resource. 14

22 Managing your time The most helpful way to think of time is as a bank balance with a set amount of funds in it. Every time we spend some, we are reducing the total. Obviously we can t really save time; we can only spend it, or buy it by reinvesting it in other activities. Thinking of time in this way can make you much more conscious of how you use it. For example: giving it away. Do you realise how much time you give away freely? We rarely hand over money on request (particularly if we know we won t get it back), but if someone asks for time we ll probably agree happily... and even ask politely if they want more of it. being robbed. People also steal our time. How often do you sit waiting for those who are late for meetings, or patiently put up with slow service in a restaurant? If this stealing of hours and minutes related to money, you d call the police! TOP TIP Learn to use your scrap time productively. Try working on the train or plane, or spend driving hours listening to language tapes, for example. It s amazing how these oddments accumulate, and what you can achieve if you make proper use of them. 15

23 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY Step two: Work out your time wasters Where does the time go? we mutter to ourselves, as yet another day draws to a close. Well, where does it go? If you look at your daily routine for a week or so, you ll probably see that you waste time in the same ways every day. Once you know the principal eaters of your time, it becomes much easier to reduce or eliminate them, and therefore to become more productive. There s an easy exercise you can do to identify these black holes: Take a sheet of A4 and divide it into columns, one for each of your typical daily activities not forgetting the mundane items such as photocopying or answering the phone. Split each column into 15-minute boxes, from the beginning to the end of your working day (8.30 am 6.00 pm, for example). Then put crosses in the boxes according to how much time you spent on that activity during the day. If you spend an hour in a meeting, for instance, that column gets four crosses. Total up the used time under each heading at the end of the day, and then again at the end of a week. 16

24 Managing your time You ll probably be horrified to learn exactly how much time you spend chatting at the coffee machine, compared to that spent on important report writing! TOP TIP Once you ve identified where your time goes, ask yourself the four essential questions: 1 What should I stop doing? 2 What should I be more aware of? 3 What am I spending too much time on? 4 What should I spend more time on? Step three: Take control Most people s trouble with time management stems from the fact that they are always reactive. Unexpected things happen you react; urgent tasks need doing you react; people interrupt you you react. You re always rushing to keep up with external events that you have no control over. However, you need to learn how to become the opposite: proactive. This means that you decide what needs doing and when; you decide how much time you will allocate to each task; you choose when is appropriate to deal with other people, and allocate time to deal with unexpected events. In other words, you take the initiative and, in doing so, gain the control that will let you plan and organise your own time and help your team make the best use of theirs. 17

25 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY There are four main ways of achieving this: 1 prioritising tasks 2 planning what gets done and when 3 knowing what not to do 4 eliminating or minimising interruptions and external time wasters Read on for all you need to know about each! Step four: Know how to prioritise First things first: in order to prioritise how you use your time, you need to know how to distinguish between what is important, and what is urgent. Appreciating the full meaning of each is central. Important is highly strategic, and long term will make the most difference in whether or not your project succeeds. Urgent, on the other hand, normally has to be tackled immediately, though doesn t automatically relate to a critical issue for your project. For example your car could be causing an obstruction outside the office. Urgent? Yes. Important to the work in hand? No. 18

26 Managing your time The best way to prioritise tasks is to split everything that needs doing into four categories, as shown in the diagram above then deal with them as follows: 1 Low urgency/low importance. Put it on a to-do list (see below). 2 Low urgency/high importance. Put it in your diary, but DO get it done soon. This is the category which is likely to achieve the most long-term gains. 3 High urgency/low importance. Delegate it. 4 High urgency/high importance. Do it yourself, NOW! The general rule is to start with your most important tasks and tackle them one by one, making sure that you finish each before starting the next. Don t try to get the easy things out of the way first, or you might find yourself looking back 19

27 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY and wondering where the day went, without even starting the most important job. But what if I never manage to get the routine stuff done?, you may ask. The secret is to allocate yourself a block of time, say once a week, for your low urgency/high importance tasks. TOP TIP When you re prioritising tasks, remember the Pareto Principle. This holds that 20 per cent of quality time produces 80 per cent of results. The flipside, though, is that 80 per cent of non-quality time only contributes 20 per cent of results. The big lesson to draw from this, then, is that you need to make as much of your time as possible quality time, as clearly this is the most productive. It s just as important to identify the tasks that will yield the most significant results don t be one of those people who spends 80 per cent of their time just keeping busy! Step five: Make proper plans Once you ve decided on your priorities, you can plan how to organise your time. We talk elsewhere in Chapter 5 about normal project planning, but personal time planning is just as important. 20

28 Managing your time An excellent way of doing this is to use a combination of a to-do list and a diary (calendar/planner/organiser): your to-do list is the master list for all the activities you and your team need to accomplish, and is ongoing. Every time something else crops up that needs doing, it gets added to the to-do list. your diary (calendar/planner/organiser) is where you put any tasks of strategic importance, with blocks of time allocated to them, to make sure they get done. So, at the beginning of each week: set aside 10 minutes and work out everything you and your team need to get done list all tasks on your to-do list prioritise them as discussed above put the top priority/most important strategic tasks in your diary and allocate an appropriate amount of time to them TOP TIP There s a golden rule here! Put the important tasks in the diary, and the less important tasks on your to-do list. That way you will always have time allocated for your most important jobs, but needn t worry if your to-do list isn t all finished. 21

29 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY The to-do list time trap Never simply use a to-do list on its own it contains an in-built time trap. What happens is that you write every single thing that needs doing on it, and feel very pleased with yourself and organised. But then, because there s no order or prioritisation to it, it s far too easy to spend time doing the smaller, easier tasks. You ll certainly end up with a nice number of ticks on your list, but it may well be at the expense of more complex jobs which are actually much more important overall. Useful tips for diary planning Don t arrange meetings first thing in the morning. Most people are at their most productive in the mornings, so use this time for your most important work. If possible, block out the first two hours of the work day for yourself, and put it in your diary. You can then get the most important work done before the inevitable fires flare up. Always factor in a little extra time to deal with any unexpected problems that might crop up. If you have something important to do, book an appointment with yourself in the diary, tell everyone 22

30 Managing your time that s what you re doing, then shut your door and/or turn off the phone and get on with it. TOP TIP Remember Parkinson s Law: work expands to fill the time available for its completion. In other words, if you allocate a day to clean your house, it ll normally take at least a day if not slightly longer. Yet if you only had an hour before guests were due, the chances are that you d do most of it in that time! The lesson is, while the time allocated to achieve a particular goal must be reasonable, don t make it too long... it ll take all the time you give it. Step six: Deal with distractions The hardest part of any job is getting started, so the last thing you need, once you re motivated to get going, is to be interrupted. In Step two, we covered the ways in which you waste your own time and identified time wasters. You need to be just as disciplined when you re dealing with external distractions. Here are a few ideas on how to deflect things that might wreck your momentum: Choose unusual times for people to come back and see you in person, or phone you. For example, get the 23

31 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY person who s asking for five minutes of your time to return at on the dot. If the matter is that important she or he will be back on time. If not, they won t come back, or they ll be late in which case you can re-book them, given that you ve probably gone on to something else. Close your office door so people think twice about entering. If you have an assistant, divert your phone to him or her for set hours each day, and then return calls in batches. Encourage others to think for themselves. Sometimes people forget that they can take the initiative and may defer to you too much. Ask the other person what they think the answer to the question at hand is, and then take it from there. Guide them if necessary and if they come up with the right answer themselves, so much the better. TOP TIP Deferring interruptions until later is a great test of how important they are. You ll find that most are really simply urgent (rather than urgent and important) and they ll get resolved successfully in another way. 24

32 Common mistakes Managing your time You don t delegate It s tempting to do something routine yourself, rather than briefing someone else to do it. Similarly, it s easy to set about doing trivial work for the pure satisfaction of feeling busy and being achieving lots of ticks on your to-do list. However, it s almost certain that your time could be much better spent on important project tasks. Delegation is always worth the effort, and being disciplined about doing it will make sure that you don t explode with the effort of trying to be everywhere at once. You can t say no Being too thoughtful and taking on too much can cripple any well-meaning project manager. Having the courage to say no is your first line of defence. The way you do that is, of course, important: you need to be firm, but there s no point in being aggressive: you ll get much better results if stick to your guns but keep positive, friendly, and upbeat. You work in a mess It s staggering how important order is for general personal effectiveness. Research has shown that people lose hours looking for things that have been mislaid telephone numbers, bills, documents, customer details, a stapler, the photocopier paper, and so on. A tidy (or at least organised) work environment is very important: 25

33 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY clutter creates confusion, is extremely frustrating and wastes huge amounts of time. STEPS TO SUCCESS Understand that time is a precious finite resource, and can be spent, wasted, and stolen in the same way as money. Work out where your time goes each day, and identify the principal time wasters. Become proactive instead of reactive, and control events rather than letting them control you. Learn to distinguish between urgent and important, and use these categories to prioritise tasks. Plan effectively, using a combination of to-do lists and your diary (calendar/organiser) to ensure important tasks don t get neglected or delayed. Be disciplined in how you deal with external interruptions. Make sure you delegate properly. Be clear about what you want to be done, who s responsible, and what the deadline is. 26

34 Be assertive, learn to say no, and don t take on too much work. Organise your work environment so you don t become mired in clutter. Useful links 4pm: Mind Tools: Project Smart: Managing your time 27

35 3Building a project team Most projects require a wide variety of skills to complete the work involved, so with any project you manage, you re likely to have to deal with a whole group of people from different backgrounds. They may be drawn from different parts of your organisation; they may come from a number of separate organisations. Teams made up of people from a range of departments or organisations are often called crossfunctional teams. Whichever s the case, it s the project manager s job to bring them together and form them into an effective team which operates as one to achieve the overall goals of the project. Unsurprisingly, this can sometimes be tricky. However, there are a number of rules which, if followed, can make team building much easier and more likely to succeed. This chapter lays out the basics. Step one: Identify the skills you require Start off by identifying and engaging a team of people with the right skills and enthusiasm for the project. This 28

36 Building a project team list, obviously, will vary enormously depending on the size of your project and what it entails. Say, for example, you are organising an office move: you re likely to need floor planners, packers, removal men, electricians to do the wiring, IT people to sort out the computers, and so on. Your team will probably need to come from all parts of your company, so that you get people with the right skills and also that you get input and involvement from all parts of the business. You may well find that your senior stakeholder (the senior manager who has agreed to the project idea, for example; see Chapter 4 for more help on building a great relationship with stakeholders) can help you find and recruit the right people. Step two: Get the right mix of personalities Besides the different skills, it s also worth keeping an eye on the mix of personalities among your team members, as this can have a huge effect on whether the team functions properly or not. Meredith Belbin, the business writer and academic, identified around a dozen common team roles as part of his research in the 1970s: 29

37 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY Role and characteristic Function Leader aims to get the best out of everyone Challenger rocks the boat Expert provides specialist advice Ambassador makes friends easily Judge down to earth, logical, careful Innovator provides source of vision, ingenuity, and creativity Diplomat steers team to successful outcome 30 Forms the team; sets objectives; monitors performance; provides structure. Adopts unconventional approaches; challenges the accepted order; comes up with ideas. Provides a professional viewpoint, often from an external source (e.g. IT, accountancy). Develops external relationships; understands external environment; sells the team. Listens; evaluates; ponders before deciding; avoids arguments; seeks truth and the best way. Uses imagination; motivates others; evaluates and builds on ideas; deals with complex issues. Influential; builds alliances in and out of the team; good negotiator; aids agreement; often becomes leader in difficult times.

38 Building a project team Conformer helpful, reliable, co-operative Outputter chases progress Supporter/mediator focuses on team relationships Quality controller ensures tasks done well Reviewer monitors performance Fills gaps; jack of all trades; seldom challenges authority. Self-motivated; focuses on tasks and results; imposes timescales; checks progress; intolerant of other people. Builds morale; resolves conflict; gives advice; supports and encourages. Checks output; preoccupied with high standards; focuses on quality. Observes; reviews performance; promotes feedback; looks for pitfalls. Ideally, you need a good mix of these types of people in your team (bearing in mind that people can fulfil more than one role at a time), as you re likely to have problems if you have too many of one type. Imagine a team full of judges, or challengers, for instance! TOP TIP Don t worry if your team does contain quite a few of the same type of people... there are ways round it. For example, you could split your team into smaller working parties, each of which is responsible for particular tasks that together contribute to the overall goals. 31

39 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY Step three: Find out about the stages of team formation Teams go through a number of stages after they are first brought together, and these stages can be responsible for different kinds of problems or issues that arise. Say, for example, your team is going through a sticky patch and you re having to deal with conflict and arguments. If, rather than wondering what on earth is going wrong, you recognise that this may simply be a result of the stage your team has reached, it will help you judge objectively what if anything needs to be done about it. The four stages are: Forming excitement is high; everything is new and fun; no-one knows what they re doing yet. Storming roles are assigned; personalities begin to show; uncertainty of others and their abilities can lead to conflict, which can smoulder unless tackled promptly; people don t yet feel safe to be open and honest. Norming confidence starts to improve; relationships strengthen; differences of opinion are respected; solutions begin to develop; goals become manageable, and everyone starts to work together to achieve them. 32

40 Performing the team becomes fluid, with people taking it in turns to lead; delegation occurs so team members grow and flourish; goals and targets are reached regularly and effectively. Step four: Help the norming process along Building a project team In any team, it is important to get the vectors aligned. A vector is a force that pulls in a certain direction and every project team member will have their own, created by their individual beliefs, thoughts, and desires. Within a team, it can be disastrous if everyone s vectors are all straining in different directions and even one anti-vector or team member forcing the current a separate way will have an adverse effect. In your role as a project manager, it s your responsibility to get every team member pulling in the same direction to achieve the project goals a process known as vectorship. Although this sounds obvious, it s extraordinary how many projects fail because individuals who are being negative are allowed to go unchallenged! The best way to get these vectors aligned is to create a working climate in which mistakes and failures are viewed as learning experiences, not occasions for blame, and where every member feels included in the loop. There are a number of elements which contribute to this type of an atmosphere: 33

41 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY a free flow of information. Make sure that every member receives/has easy access to any information they need to do their job. open communication. Don t keep secrets, or allow team members to feel that some people are privy to information that others aren t. frequent feedback. People need to know how well they re doing and if and where improvements can be made. regular one-to-one interaction. Talk to your team members as people, and use the time to make sure they re happy and on side. a listening culture. Make sure that people feel free to say what they think without fear or anger, and that they will be heard, even when they re voicing minority or unpopular views. Step five: Learn what motivates people Motivation is essential for people and teams to work effectively and harmoniously. Studies into what motivates people at work have revealed that motivators and demotivators are not necessarily the same thing. In other words, the things that make people feel motivated and 34

42 Building a project team enthusiastic are not always the same things that, if unsatisfactory, make them feel discontented and apathetic. The table below identifies the top ten motivators for project team members, and the top ten demotivators*: Motivators Score Demotivators Score Recognition 1 Relations with project manager Achievement 2 Team peer relations 1 2 Responsibility 3 Salary 3 Team peer 4 Project manager s 4 relations leadership Salary 5 Security 5 Relations with 6 Work conditions 6 project manager Project manager s leadership 7 Organisation s policy Work itself 8 Team subordinate relations 7 8 Advancement 9 Personal time 9 Personal growth 10 Title/status 10 * R J Yourzak, Motivation in the Project Environment (1985). These lists prove the point: some things, if they re good, are hardly noticed but they cause high levels of dissatisfaction if they re bad. 35

43 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY TOP TIP Go through your list of team members and consider what you think motivates each of them, or small groups of them if this is more appropriate. Then consider whether any of the demotivators listed are present in your project or organisation. Is there anything you can do to boost the positives and minimise the effect of the negatives? Step six: Delegate Delegation is another vital tool for managing your team. It s not something that everyone finds easy to start with, but it does get easier with practice and will help your project run smoothly. Here are the basic rules: Select the most appropriate person for the task. Depending on what the job is, you might not have to always delegate downwards, towards your team: you can also delegate upwards (to your manager) or sideways (to a peer). Communicate clearly to whoever will be helping you, so that he or she is clear about what they should be coming back to you with, and when. 36

44 Building a project team Break down tasks into manageable chunks, probably with deadlines at each stage where the other person can report back and let you know that things are moving in the right direction. Keep proper records so you know what tasks you are delegating and to whom. And here s a quick summary of how much supervision is needed, depending on a person s experience and motivation: Level of experience 1 New or inexperienced person, low confidence 2 Slightly more experience/confidence 3 More experienced, though needs some guidance and help Degree of supervision required Tell the person what to do. Show them how to do it. Put a plan together, showing each checkpoint when they have to report back to you. Review the task and give feedback. Tell the person what your desired outcome is, and plan the steps together. Less frequent checkpoints than (1). Tell the person what your desired outcome is and allow them to plan it, and establish when checkpoints are necessary. 37

45 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY 4 Experienced, committed person Explain the required outcome, timescales, and checkpoints (if any), and leave them to get on with it. But don t abdicate all responsibility for a task; you are the project leader, and are ultimately responsible for everything! TOP TIP The secret of good delegation (and supervision) is to put yourself into your team members shoes. Imagine being a really capable professional who knows and enjoys what you re doing, but having a project manager who s constantly peering over your shoulder and commenting on how you do your job! Conversely, think what it would be like for a new recruit, who s still very unsure of themselves and their role, to managed by a hands-off boss who simply leaves them to sink or swim. How would you react under those circumstances? Step seven: Resolve conflict Projects can be breeding grounds for conflict because they are temporary situations and circumstances within them tend to change continually. Unresolved conflict can be 38

46 Building a project team very destructive, so it needs to be tackled immediately. Here s how: 1 Recognise conflict Conflict can be either overt (clearly visible and stemming from an easily identifiable cause), or covert (bubbling under the surface, from a less obvious or apparently unrelated cause). 2 Monitor the climate Look out for early warning signals so that you can deal with the conflict quickly, before it gets out of hand. Early action saves time and stress later. 3 Research the situation Spend time finding out the true root cause of the conflict, who is involved, and what the potential effects are. Putting yourself in other people s shoes will enable you to understand and empathise better. 4 Plan your approach Encourage everyone involved to be open and understanding in the way they interact with others. It might be a good idea to ask people to write down their thoughts and feelings, so that they can express themselves logically and constructively. 39

47 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY 5 Tackle the issue Give everyone a chance to express their point of view. Avoid fight or flight: fighting back will only make the situation worse, while running away from the situation will show that you don t feel up to resolving the situation, and it may lead to a loss of respect. Remember to be assertive. Becoming aggressive will get you nowhere, but being passive won t achieve anything either. Acknowledge the views and rights of all parties. Encourage those involved to come up with their own solution if they ve created the solution, they are more likely to buy into it. Suggest a constructive way forward. Common mistakes 40 You don t involve your team early enough in decision-making Making too many rules and trying to impose your own plans and methods on your team without getting their input is just asking for trouble. You ve brought these people together for their skills so involve them from the start. Not only will they provide a fresh perspective,

48 Building a project team information, and ideas, but also they will feel as if they own the plans, all of which boosts their level of commitment to them. This doesn t mean that your projects should be planned by committee, rather that you, as manager, plan the project based on all the available experience and creative ideas. Perhaps you could attempt the first level(s) of planning to help you explain the project to the team and then ask for comments. Then, using these, the final breakdown of tasks could be looked at again by the people who ll actually be carrying them out. You micromanage Don t go there! You ll explode with the effort of trying to oversee every detail yourself, and your team will quickly lose motivation. Delegate the work and supervise it appropriately, but for heaven s sake keep your eye mainly on the overall direction of the project the big picture. As project manager, that s your job! STEPS TO SUCCESS Identify the skills needed to make the project happen, and then find the people with those skills. Remember that a great team is made up of a mix of personalities. Don t just recruit people like you, either. 41

49 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY Understand the different stages of team formation. You ll need to take the rough with the smooth and not panic. Create a good climate in which the team can function effectively. Don t shut yourself away in your office: talk to your team regularly. Remember that different people understand in different ways, and adjust how you present information accordingly. Recognise what factors motivate (and demotivate) people. Don t be afraid to delegate! Spot conflict as early as possible, and take immediate steps to resolve it. Involve team members in project decisions right from the start. Keep your eye on the big picture. Useful link Belbin Associates: 42

50 with a project sponsor 4Working and stakeholders It s all too easy, when you re working on a project, to become so involved with your team and the work in hand that you overlook a very important group of people. These are your sponsor and stakeholders in other words, all those who may have an investment or interest in the project s outcome without being directly involved in making it happen. Neglect them at your peril! This group is likely to have opinions and influences that can make all the difference between success and failure of the whole project. The wise project manager will make sure that he or she knows from the outset who all these people are, what form their interest in the project takes, and their needs and desires, and will then work out how to start and maintain a great working relationship with them. This chapter shows you how. Step one: Understand what a sponsor and a stakeholder are The project sponsor is the individual or organisation for whom the project is undertaken the primary risk-taker, 43

51 MANAGE PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY in other words. This usually means the person or body responsible for financing the project. The project sponsor is far and away your most important stakeholder. Stakeholders are people who are not directly involved in the project but are affected by it in some way, and so have a vested interest in its successful or unsuccessful conclusion. As a result, they (and their views) have to be taken into account by the project manager and the sponsor. The most common type of stakeholder is the user that is, the group of people who will be using the end product but can also include people like your boss, suppliers, customers, and even your family. Step two: Know why it s essential to have these people on side There are a number of important benefits to having a good relationship with your sponsor and stakeholders. If you consult the most powerful among them early on, you can use their opinions to shape your project from the outset. Not only does this make it more likely that they will support you, but their input can also improve the quality of your work (and stop you having to do things twice). 44

52 Working with a project sponsor and stakeholders Gaining support from powerful stakeholders can also help you to win valuable additional resources which also means that your project will be more likely to succeed. If you keep in touch regularly with stakeholders, you ll know that they fully understand what you re doing and what the benefits are. As a result, they ll feel more involved and will probably be willing to support you actively when necessary. Through stakeholders, you can anticipate what people s reactions to your project may be and build in plans that will win widespread support. Good stakeholder management also helps you to deal with the politics that can often come with major projects, and eliminates a potential source of major stress. TOP TIP Remember that your sponsor, having the biggest interest in your project, is not a silent partner and does have the right to make decisions. If you think these are wrong, be honest about what you think (but don t be confrontational). If, after all that, the sponsor still wants it done his or her way, follow instructions and do your best to make sure the outcome is successful. 45